Alright sinners, grab your incense, cloak yourself in shadows, and prepare for an Orthodox black metal sermon from the crypt.
Because BATUSHKA (ะะะขะฎะจะะ if you’re feeling Cyrillic) arenโt just here to play heavy โ they’re here to deliver liturgy straight from the apocalypse. โฆ๏ธ๐ฅ๐ฟ
Imagine a monastery getting possessed by Behemoth, with the choir replaced by robed riff lords and the altar piled with skulls.
That’s Batushka: part ritual, part rebellion, all absolutely blasphemous.
โฆ๏ธ WHO (OR WHAT) IS BATUSHKA?
Genre: Orthodox Black Metal / Ritual Doom / Liturgical Mayhem
From: Poland ๐ต๐ฑ
Formed: 2015 (โฆand then promptly imploded into a cursed soap opera)
Known For:
- Mixing Eastern Orthodox liturgy with furious black metal
- Gregorian-style chants layered over bone-crushing tremolo riffs
- Worshipping at the altar of atmosphere AND annihilation
- A band split so dramatic even Satan went โdamn lads, calm downโ
Letโs get this out the way:
Yes, there are TWO Batushkas now.
Yes, itโs messy.
No, you donโt have to pick sides โ just follow the riffs.
๐งจ THE SPLIT โ BLACK METALโS MESSIEST DIVORCE
Originally founded by:
- Krzysztof โDerphโ Drabikowski โ Guitarist & mastermind
- Bartลomiej โBartโ Krysiuk โ Vocalist & frontman
After their debut Litourgiya blew up like a censer full of TNT, the band imploded in holy hellfire.
Lawsuits flew. Statements were issued.
Now there are TWO Batushkas:
- Drabikowskiโs Batushka โ DIY, grim, raw, unfiltered evil
- Krysiukโs Batushka โ Signed, polished, touring like a liturgical rock opera
Result?
Fans are divided.
The music? Still slaps harder than an icon thrown from the pulpit.
๐ฟ DISCOGRAPHY โ BOTH CHURCHES SHALL BE JUDGED
๐ฅ Litourgiya (2015 โ OG Batushka)
๐ง Yekteniya 1โ8
Vibe: ***Black metal perfection.
Choral chants, churning riffs, holy hell this is good.
Considered a modern masterpiece.
Everyone agrees: THIS is the blueprint.
๐ค Panihida (2019 โ Drabikowskiโs Batushka)
๐ง Piesn 1โ8
Vibe: Rawer, darker, deeper.
Less production, more atmosphere.
A DIY exorcism recorded in a candlelit bunker.
Still brutal AND beautiful.
๐ฏ๏ธ Hospodi (2019 โ Krysiukโs Batushka)
๐ง Wozglas, Polunosznica, Utrenia
Vibe: Bigger, glossier, theatrical.
More groove and polish than Panihida, but still delivers the darkness.
More โarena of fire,โ less โgraveyard in the woods.โ
๐ก๏ธ Raskol (2021 โ Krysiukโs)
๐ง Irmos, Rozhdestvo, Powieczerje
Vibe: Riffs return, cleaner but more furious.
Name literally means โschismโ โ cheeky much?
Leans into the epic, stompier vibe of late Behemoth.
๐ฅ ะฆะฐัั ะะตะฑะตัะฝัะน / Carju Niebiesnyj (2023 โ Drabikowskiโs)
๐ง Each track a grim gospel
Vibe: Ritualistic, cold, and absolutely punishing.
***Drabikowski proving he doesnโt need a label โ just a torch and a chalice.
๐ง RIFF REPORTโS ESSENTIAL PSALMS OF DESTRUCTION
โฆ๏ธ Yekteniya 1 โ The bell tolls. The end begins.
๐ฅ Polunosznica โ Dark, theatrical, stomping toward judgment.
๐ฏ๏ธ Piesn 3 โ Cavernous. Crying. Crushing.
๐ Rozhdestvo โ Blackened blasphemy with style.
๐ฎ Carju Niebiesnyj โ As close as youโll get to being buried aliveโฆ with groove.
๐ง WHY BATUSHKA MATTER
Because they:
- Took the tired tropes of black metal and blessed them with sacred theatre
- ***Created one of the most unique sounds in extreme metal this century
- ***Made Orthodox chants terrifying again (or possibly for the first time)
- ***Proved that you can split a band in half and STILL have two that slap
- Wear robes better than half of Eurovision
They blur the line between worship and war, and whether youโre on Team Drabikowski or Team Krysiuk โ
youโre still getting your face melted off in the pews.
๐ค LIVE SHOWS โ A FUNERAL MASS WITH RIFFS
A Batushka gig is:
- โ ๏ธ Smoke. Candles. Fire. Icons. Intensity.
- ๐ฏ๏ธ ***Less โgigโ and more โfuneral for the light.โ
- ๐ญ A full-blown blackened ritual โ with stage robes, swinging censers, and ominous glares
- ๐ Sound like a crypt collapsing on a cathedral
Whether it’s the raw violence of Drabikowski or the arena-blasted glory of Krysiuk โ youโll walk out changed.
๐ฏ๏ธ FINAL VERDICT FROM THE RIFF REPORT:
***Batushka may be a band split in two โ but both halves are lethal.
One burns churches.
One builds cathedrals of sound.
Both are blasphemous as hell.
Want Orthodox chants over blast beats?
Want your black metal steeped in ritual, wrath, and robed mystery?
Want to feel like you just pissed off every saint in the sky?
Then light the incense, raise the chalice, and enter the litourgiya.
๐ค The Riff Report kneels, snarls, and chants:
BATUSHKA โ TWO NAMES.
ONE DARK PURPOSE.
BLACK METALโS HOLY WAR. โฆ๏ธ๐ฅ๐
